Meals

J. Lyons and Co. Cafe, North Street, c. 1910

Brighton and Hove in Pictures

In the first half of the 20th century, the majority of the population found it a struggle to feed themselves and their families.

Memories of the difficulties of finding food on a low budget, between 1910 and 1940, in the local area of Brighton and Hove, are explored on this page and in Tea Shops and Shopping for food.

You can download Meals and its accompanying pages by clicking here (PDF format).

Then there was the children (me included) whose parents hadn't got a lot of food for the family.
We were given a large white ticket and took this up to Park Street School (Park Street) between 7.30 a.m. and 8.30 a.m. every morning, show this ticket and the attendant would give all the boys and girls a large round of scones plus 1 pint of skimmed milk, and this was our breakfast.

Dinner times (between 12.30 and 1.30) we were given another ticket. With this, we went down to Richmond Street School (which is now pulled down) and were given a plate of hot soup or stew, followed by a large slice of currant roly-poly, or jam pudding for a change. And this for five days a week.

Apart from this there was in Cobden Road (off Islingword Road) a soup kitchen.

.....from Monday to Friday children would line up outside in Cobden Road armed with enamel jugs, wash-stand jugs, stone jugs with handles, in fact anything large to hold liquid. Their parents would give them all they could afford, perhaps 1 penny or 2 pennies.

In they would go, through a rough old door in the wall, and say to the woman, "1 pennyworth of soup please" (or 2 penniesworth). Then she would say, "How many brothers and sisters have you got?" Perhaps he or she would say, "4 brothers and three sisters."

The woman would then cut off 8 thick slices from a dry loaf (given to them by a local baker) and say, "There you are, then. See you again tomorrow?" So that's how all the children waiting for soup were treated.
Albert Paul - Poverty, Hardship but Happiness

Whatever was available was shared equally, no-one was allowed to take any mean advantage of another, cleanliness and a smart appearance were a must, table manners had to be observed, meal times were strictly adhered to, anyone arriving late for dinner without reasonable excuse would find their dinner on the table getting cold.

The greatest crime in my father's eyes was to waste food. He had experienced hunger after his own father died when he was only four. Any food left on one's plate at one meal would be served up again at the next meal.
Don Carter - Just One Large Family

Depending on how much milk was in our can, we would have milk over our bread or cocoa. This was our breakfast every day...

When we returned midday (from school), one of us would cut slices of meat for all the plates, fry the leftover vegetables and share it. If any trifle was left from Sunday dinner that also was shared. What an elaborate name for three penny worth of stale cakes, with a custard made with skimmed milk.
Daisy Noakes - The Town Beehive

Nearly all houses in all the working class districts kept 2 or 3 rabbits, chickens or pigeons in their back gardens and these they would kill for Christmas.
Albert Paul - Poverty, Hardship but Happiness

Grandad brought in a basket of birds one day - some sparrows, but mostly finches. My mother just skinned the breasts and cut them off to make a sparrow pie. Sometimes we had rook pie, and at lambing time it was lambs' tail pie, as all lambs' tails were docked for cleanliness, and also to improve the meat. The nourishment would all go into the body. When tails were left on, they got very fat. I don't remember what these pies tasted like.
George Noakes - To be a Farmer's Boy